Enforcer
Overview Enforcer is a brand-name for an entire line of Sidh handblasters rather than a specific model. Having been in service for a century, several generations of Enforcers have since become iconic of the Sidh armed forces and security services. All Enforcer models are classified as handblasters rather than pistols. A handblaster differs from a conventional pistol by it's considerably larger size, weight and caliber. In effect, a handblaster is essentially an oversized pistol designed to be used exclusively with powered armor. Consequently, handblasters are considerably larger and heavier than conventional pistols, rivalling conventional shotguns and assault rifles in size and weight. In the hands of an unaugmented human without a bulky armor suit or combat exoskeleton, a typical Enforcer would appear more like an oversized submachine gun and weigh even more than one. Because of their exclusive usage with powered armor, handblasters can use autocannon-caliber ammunition that would otherwise generate recoil too massive for even conventional shoulder arms to comfortably handle, propelling massive shells to devastating effect. Newer energy-based models that eschew the use of ammunition cast equally deadly bolts of plasma instead. History and background As preparations were underway to reconquer the realms of the Old Imperium in the first decades of 2500's, the need for a more potent sidearm than the aging boltguns that had been in service since the early days of the Imperium. Consequently, the Ministry of Armaments would commission the design of a new type of sidearm to be used with powered armor in 2534. After several years and rigorous evaluation of various prototypes built by different constructors, the contract to supply the entire Imperial armed forces was awarded to Denerar State Arms, then a relatively new and obscure arms manufacturer. Their prototype sidearm, then called simply Model E, was deemed superior in terms of reliability, simplicity and per-unit production cost to all competitors. Consequently, Model E was adopted in general service and entered mass production in 2540, branded as Enforcer Mk.540. Since Denerar State Arms simply lacked the manufacturing capacity to supply the billions-strong Imperial armed forces, the design was licensed out to every other major arms manufacturer in the Imperium. The various later modifications of the Mk.540 were produced by different companies on different worlds, leading to the original design being labelled as "Denerar-pattern" in later times. The original Mk.540 was issued to the Army and Navy, the Imperial Guard and the security services adopting the slightly-modified B and C variants respectively. With the commencement of Reconquest Wars in 2549, the shortcomings of Mk.540 became evident, most notably the tendency for the barrel to rise when firing the weapon rapidly, and the ease with which the receiver was deformed under rough conditions. These and other shortcomings were addressed with the next generation of Enforcers, the 560 series. Mk. 560 introduced a barrel counterweight and improved recoil dampers along with a hardened receiver at the slight expense of barrel length that did not result in a noticable change in accuracy. In addition, improved lightweight composites were used in the weapon's construction, reducing it's overall weight significantly even with all the new additions without affecting performance. Although Mk. 560, named after the forge world Legatus on which it was primarily manufactured, was intended for adoption by all service branches, it would take several decades before it completely replaced the original Denerar-pattern and it's variants. The Auxilia and various second-rate planetary garrisons retained Mk. 540 even longer, up to the turn of 27th century. The Imperial Guard and the elite legions requested their own customized variant, resulting in the production of Mk.560 Elite, which featured a full-auto mode and an extended magazine. As the Imperium's human and Skargh enemies recovered from the initial shock of Imperial invasion and began to introduce more effective body armor, the need for better armor penetration in sidearms became obvious. Consequently, Lithore Military Industries, one of the state companies manufacturing the Enforcers under license, produced a redesigned version, significantly increasing the power output to the weapon's mag rails and making other adaptations for a massively-increased muzzle velocity. The result was the Mk.583 Lithore-pattern Enforcer. Despite it's superior performance against body armor, the weapon never replaced the cheaper and simpler 560, partly due to the delays in putting into mass production over various technical issues. By the time it was ready for mass production in 2583, the Reconquest Wars had effectively ended with an informal cease-fire. Consequently, the 583 was adopted in limited numbers by special operations branches of various branches of service. With the turn of the century, the Ministry of Armaments pressured defense contractors to develop a new, improved version of the Enforcer to stay ahead in the arms race. The resulting Mk. 610, also named Denerar-pattern in honour of the original design that had since become iconic, was a radical redesign of the handblaster concept itself, turning an oversized autopistol into an energy weapon and retaining only superficial similarity to the earlier models. The 610 was the product of a decade of joint effort by over a dozen major arms manufacturing companies. While larger directed-energy weapons like the ubiquitous energy rifles and plasmacasters had been in use for many decades now, energization of sidearms had thus far been neglected, largely due to their limited utility in combat primarily as emergency self-defense weapons. Consequently, the research institutes of the various arms manufacturers had to invest considerable resources and time to miniaturize all elements of a plasmacaster technology sufficiently to fit in a handblaster-sized frame and remain safe and effective to fire. Presently, Mk. 610 is gradually replacing the aging Mk.560 as the standard-issue sidearm throughout Imperial armed and security forces. However, many units including a number of elite legions are loath to adopt the new plasma-based Enforcer, favouring the rugged simplicity and versatility of the 560 over the new high-tech gun. Asides from much simpler maintenance, the 560 can fire a large variety of specialized munitions instead of just plasma bolts and electric arc on stun setting, making it preferred especially by elite commando units. While the Order of Judicators has no set standard issue armament, it's agents being free to equip themselves according to mission specifics and their personal preferences, it did created it's very own custom variant of the 610. Since Mk.610 was the first Enforcer handblaster to be small and light enough to be used effectively without powered armor (although still being quite large and requiring the augmented strength of a Sidh to use effectively), the Order applied it's own R&D assets to further improve on those traits. This yielded the Mk.610x Judicator-pattern, a compact collapsible version of the original 610 small enough to be tucked in one's sleeve in compacted form. It also featured an enhanced neural-link targeting system enabling the agents to effectively line up shots on multiple targets. Many Judicators have since adopted this weapon because of it's independence from an ammunition supply and devastating power in a compact size. All Enforcers come with an integrated 40 mm multipurpose smoothbore launcher capable of firing flares, grenades, shot shells and various specialized munitions. Trivia All of the Judicators except Halko mentioned in Frencoverse are described as carrying an Enforcer Mk.610x Although never mentioned specifically by model, it is most probably a 610, being the only currently-existing model of Enforcer handblaster to fire plasma bolts rather than kinetic projectiles. Alain and Serena are described as especially proficient gunplayers, both wielding a pair of Enforcers attached to retractable mounts on their gauntlets for better concealment. The English-speaking humans of the Imperium and the Federation often refer to Mk. 610 as Sixten or Hex-deck, referring to their model number in English and Sidh respectively. The proper way to refer to the 610 in English is actually ''Sixty-One-Oh, ''to avoid confusion with a Nordic personal name, the older models being referred more intuitively as ''Five-Forty, Five-Sixty ''and ''Five-Eighty-Three ''respectively. Gallery